Abstract
Released at the Tanglewood Symposium in 1967, the Tanglewood Declaration outlined goals for the future of music education in the United States. The gathered educators agreed that the music education curriculum should include “music of other cultures” and that “music is not a specialty for the few” (Music Educators National Conference 1967, 49–51). Over fifty years later, music educators still strive to be more inclusive in their classroom practices.
Some strands of music education tend to lend themselves easily to culturally responsive, multicultural teaching and to bringing in children’s outside experiences. Patricia Shehan Campbell examined music that children experience outside of the school, noting that “many learn music . . . provided to them by their parents, siblings, and extended family members and by the social and religious communities of their family’s involvement” (Campbell 1998, 42). General music pedagogy has made steps to include this information by examining different cultures and including songs, instruments, and games from around the world. This article examines a broader approach than just curriculum and materials; the framework discussed below can influence teaching methodology, assessment practices, and grading, among others.
Instrumental music educators sometimes struggle to incorporate a more inclusive approach. My research has shown that issues do not necessarily lie within teacher ambition, but in limited access to techniques and curricula that are both inclusive and pedagogically sound. This perpetuates the stereotype that instrumental classrooms, orchestra specifically, are sometimes known as elitist or antiquated. In addition, orchestra classrooms have traditionally had lower enrollment of underrepresented populations than band, choir, or general music classrooms (Elpus and Abril 2019). By using the framework below for inspiration, the hope is that orchestra teachers find tangible ideas to include in their classrooms. A more inclusive education in the orchestra classroom could provide a more comprehensive and diverse education for all our students.
“A more inclusive education in the orchestra classroom could provide a more comprehensive and diverse education for all our students.”
New York State Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework
In 2018, the New York State Department of Education began formulating its Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework (CRSEF) (New York State Education Department 2023). Realizing a need for a tangible and practical framework that teachers could use in their classrooms to promote culturally responsive education, their vision was to provide a way for New York State teachers to adopt a mindset of not only including all students in the classroom, but bringing new experiences and techniques to their pedagogy. The framework consists of four main “pillars”:
Welcoming and Affirming Environment;
High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction;
Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment;
Ongoing Professional Learning and Support.
These pillars make up the framework’s organization, framing suggestions and examples for teachers on how they can become the most inclusive and progressive educators. As a New York State teacher, I was excited to dig into this framework and to see what opportunities a more inclusive approach could bring. This article focuses on ways to incorporate this framework into the orchestra classroom specifically.
Other states have similar frameworks either in progress or completed, such as New Mexico (https://shorturl.at/bkpGY) and Pennsylvania (https://shorturl.at/duHT7). Some states, like Texas (https://shorturl.at/biprL), include similar frameworks in their teaching certification guidelines, meaning that no matter where a program is, teachers understand that this is essential to being a complete and inclusive string music educator. Using the New York State framework, below are some of the ways this can be included in the orchestra classroom.
Welcoming and Affirming Environment
The CRSEF describes a welcoming and affirming environment as somewhere that feels “safe . . . where all cultural identities . . . are affirmed, valued, and used as vehicles for teaching and learning (2023).” This space can be generated in a number of ways.
Physical space: Take a look around the classroom. There may be posters, visual aids, schedules, and student artwork. Examine the visuals, and who is in them. A student might look at the posters you have of Jacqueline du Prè, Beethoven, and Mozart and not feel connected to that environment. Teach students about them and tout their accomplishments, but make sure to include other diverse musicians such as Jessie Montgomery (black composer) or Tona Brown (the first transgender violinist to play in Carnegie Hall; https://shorturl.at/ahrKM) (Mesa 2014). The Black Orchestral Network (https://www.blackorchestralnetwork.org/) is a great resource to find more diverse musicians that students can study (Marshall Enterprises 2021).
Relationships with families and community: In an orchestra program, family support provides not only an audience for concerts, but also assistance in home practice and continuous learning outside of rehearsal. Technology such as Talking Points (https://talkingpts.org/) or Remind (https://www.remind.com/) provide a quick and easy way to communicate with and support relationships with students’ families. A post-concert reception is a simple way to interact and connect; make it a “dish to pass” event and get to know even more of your students’ home life and culture. My program hosts a picnic at the beginning of the year in that style, and it is delightful to see what families bring. Invite families to chaperone trips and events or hold an open rehearsal so families can see all the hard work that goes into performances.
Insight into home lives: Not only does the culture of a student’s home life often vary from school, but it is a crucial part of their person that teachers should make a point to know. Identify things such as non-nuclear families, siblings, and housing. Wednesday through Friday, a student might not be able to bring an instrument home to practice, as their father works late. Saturday through Tuesday, when they are with their mother, they may be able to do so. Home culture itself is important. On a surface level, it may mean researching customs or traditions, but think deeper than that. People communicate in varying ways and interact with each other in certain manners. This may change how you communicate with the family or even interact with the student in and out of the classroom.
Recognition/reward/incentive practices: When teaching elementary orchestra, I implemented a “karate-style” incentive-based system. By practicing and being able to perform different songs successfully, my students moved up a “belt” to the next level. Their individual progress was on display in the classroom, meaning that students could see where others were progressing in relation to them. Reactions differed to the incentives, as some were raised to embrace competition; some avoided it entirely. While my intent was to create a strong work ethic and healthy competition, I was unconsciously alienating and pressuring the students who had never experienced this kind of system before. This is not to say a reward or incentive system cannot be effective, but it is important to do the work beforehand of knowing your classroom culture and how your students interact with competition. Look into developing a system that may involve varying rewards (or none at all) or individualized goals for each student to fit their needs as instead of blanket goals for the whole group. Your students may not be slacking on progressing; they just may not work well with comparing themselves to others.
Risk and Mistakes: Every culture is different when it comes to mistakes, risk, and in a way, reputation. Families may encourage their children to “try and try again,” or they may be subject to punishment for receiving anything less than an A on an assignment. Music rehearsal and practice thrive in an environment of “try, make a mistake, practice, and repeat.” For some students, this can lead to an incredible fear of trying, at the risk of making a mistake. Social factors play into this as well; some play as quietly as they can or even fake playing in rehearsal at the risk of their peers seeing them do something wrong. It may take more time to bring them out of their shell. Encourage these students to make mistakes or even have them try purposely playing something wrong. I try to make an effort to point out my own mistakes as well, which can be enormously encouraging to the shyest of students.
Fostering High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction
Offer quality, rigorous instruction for all: I fundamentally believe that all students are capable of working hard and achieving great things. While still being sensitive to outside factors such as student home life, schedules, and school events, it is encouraging to students to have rigorous expectations. Cognitive Evaluation Theory describes how intrinsic motivation can develop from a need for competence and self-determination (Deci, Koestner, and Ryan 2001). Clear expectations with diligent follow-through can potentially eliminate various separating factors of the classroom, holding each student accountable for their success.
Center identities of all students in instruction: Diverse repertoire is becoming available more than ever for orchestra classrooms. Include activities, videos, or demonstrations that include topics, musicians, and performing groups with which students can identify and see themselves. YouTube is a great resource for finding performing groups from around the world, and a free way for students to see and hear other cultures from a primary source. Use current events to spark ideas and topics as well. For example, rather than simply telling students that next week is a school holiday due to Eid al-Fitr, examine what it means or listen to and watch traditional music of Muslim culture. Ask students what notable dates are coming soon in their lives. Not only do practices like these acknowledge and support students’ identities, but they teach the other students about those cultures as well (Good-Perkins 2022, 8).
Provide caregivers with ways to support instruction: Dr. Shinichi Suzuki was a master at including families in a student’s musical practice. He recognized that asking a student to practice away from the teacher, especially at a young age, puts an immense amount of responsibility and accountability on the student. He made a point of having caregivers sit in on lessons and classes. Involving families not only brings them closer together musically, but also helps the teacher. At open house at the beginning of the year, model ways caregivers can help their children practice at home. One can periodically send families YouTube videos to watch together or websites to peruse. Providing those support systems outside of the classroom can only help within the rehearsals and lessons.
Invite community members and families: Thirty students in an ensemble means thirty resources for cultural information. If there is a college or university in your town, you are bound to have an expert nearby who can come in and speak on a chosen topic. Consider non-musical options as well, especially if a piece involves something or someone you may not know much about. Virtual options make this even more possible now.
Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment
Feature traditionally marginalized voices: Use resources such as https://www.musicbywomen.org/ and The Institute for Composer Diversity (https://www.composerdiversity.com/) to find pieces for ensembles that are written by diverse composers to enrich the options that are presented for students (Murdock and Parsell 2024). In addition to programming these works, make a point to connect students to the composer’s history and life, bringing a more comprehensive and inclusive view to the music being played.
Provide classroom materials in multiple languages: Knowing students, their cultures, and the community as a whole will help you identify when this is needed. If resources are lacking, reach out to building administration or ask around, as the communication barrier can be a major stumbling block in a student’s musical progress. While it requires work up front, translating pages of a method book into a different language can be an immense help, especially to involve families in practice time.
Field trips: One of the goals of a music educator is to foster a life-long love of all types of music. Research ways to take the program out of the classroom to encounter different types of music and customs. Showing students ways to incorporate their craft and continue to learn about different musical customs after leaving the classroom can encourage the passion for music that we strive to instill.
Highlight students’ unique strengths: It is never too early to encourage student leadership within the classroom. A student who loves math can be a treasurer. A student who shows strong leadership skills can be a section leader or lead warm-ups, rehearse the group, or provide peer or group feedback. Student-led initiatives can take time to plan, but offering something such as a self-organized concert or small-group self-run rehearsals encourages autonomy, self-assessment, and life-long music skills, as well as giving students a place for themselves in the classroom.
Ongoing Professional Learning and Support
Reflect on your own implicit bias: The community in which I grew up is largely rural, white, and middle-class. Based on my upbringing, I frankly knew little about many other cultures. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines implicit bias as bias that occurs “automatically and unintentionally” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2022). The key word here is “unintentionally”—closely examine interactions with each of your students, as well as look at classroom policies, repertoire selection, and other factors. Ask other colleagues to observe your teaching, and their lived experiences may offer you feedback that might have otherwise gone unseen.
Seek opportunities within the community: Joining a community group or ensemble can offer so much insight. It can be musically related or related to a hobby or interest you have. Meeting and interacting with people in the larger community can give insights into how a town functions, people’s personalities, and what resources may be available for students. Other people seeing and meeting the local orchestra teacher promotes connection to the program as well.
Analyze data to determine bias or trends: Be critical of formal classroom procedures such as assessment or seating as well as informal interactions with students, especially while doing your own internal reflection and looking for implicit bias. Look at grading trends—is there a certain student or group of students always trending low? Why are they scoring low? Is there a certain student or group of students always trending high? Don’t be afraid to ask colleagues to grade a few examples to check. Examine things critically, and try to get as holistic a view as possible. Many resources are available for grading and procedure ideas, such as Joe Feldman’s Grading for Equity.
Seek out professional learning sessions, resources, and reading materials: Many resources are available for informal professional development. The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) has many webinars and articles available (https://nafme.org/professional-learning-events/), and the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) eLearning page (https://www.astastrings.org/site/elearning) offers similar resources, with a focus on string music education. If you have a NAfME membership, use their website to look through databases and journals such as Music Educators Journal, the Journal of Research in Music Education, and Update for studies and articles that can assist in becoming a more inclusive educator. Do not be afraid to dig a bit, reach out to authors, and start a conversation if you can.
While these changes may seem daunting, I suggest a starting point of researching whether your state has a framework similar to New York. If you are unable to find one, consider implementing some of the suggestions above while adjusting them to the needs and specific details of what you teach, where you teach, and the experiences and cultures of your students. Look through the ideas and find one to two things that can be implemented this week and one to two things that can relate more to long-term goals.
There’s a good chance that much of this is already happening in classrooms. The potential student gain from small changes is immense, and many musicians who call the orchestra classroom “home” can benefit. Home is a place where students can be themselves and feel supported, seen, and heard—good luck and happy community building.
Footnotes
Jonathan A. Fleischman (